Tag Archives: Mr. Mom’s

#Recipe Brownie Fries w/ Raspberry Ketchup & Yuzu Mayo

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So this recipe originally started as an idea to create smaller “bite-size” brownies with a difference. Sadly after a quick Googling (!) I found someone else had beat me in creating the concept. Oh well, imitation is the best form of flattery as they say. Brownie Fries or “Fruffles” (a portmanteau of Fries + Truffles) as they appear to be called in some places Stateside have been around for a while. Usually they’re served with a berry compote “ketchup” and yogurt “mayo” but not one to let a chance for experimentation go by I decided to mix up the flavours a bit.

Berry ketchup and yogurt mayo? Oh no, no- not for me! So all aboard the “Flavour train” for a raspberry dipping sauce with fresh and spicy notes thanks to basil and black pepper, paired with rich, creamy and zingy mascarpone dip. Here’s my take on Brownie “Fries” and they’re deep-dipping, lip-smacking good!

 

Brownie Fries (2)

Brownie “Fries”

185g unsalted butter, cubed

185g 70% cocoa dark chocolate, broken into pieces

eggs 3

275g caster sugar

85g plain flour

1 tbsp Espresso powder

50g dark chocolate chips

50g milk chocolate chips

100g pecans, lightly roasted and roughly chopped

To decorate

125g 70% cocoa dark chocolate, broken into pieces

125g milk chocolate, broken into pieces

Coarse sea salt to sprinkle

Freshly ground vanilla (Dr. Oetker do a wonderful grater/grinder)

Raspberry “Ketchup”

75g fresh raspberries

Handful fresh basil leaves, torn

½ tsp black peppercorns

Yuzu “Mayo”

250g Mascarpone cheese

100ml single cream

1 tsp agave syrup

2 tbsp Yuzu juice

  •  Set your oven to 180C/gas mark 4 and line a deep 12″x9″ baking tray with baking parchment, or 9” x9” brownie tray (with short dividers removed).
  • Melt the butter and chocolate in a bowl over a saucepan of simmering water (or bain-marie), stirring occasionally. Once melted, remove from the heat and allow to cool.
  • Beat the eggs and sugar until the mixture is thickened and fluffy, then, in a separate bowl, combine the flour and Espresso powder. Fold the cooled chocolate mixture into the egg mixture. Sieve in the dry ingredients, and fold together until just uniform in color.
  • Fold in the chocolate chips and chopped pecans until fully incorporated.
  • Pour your mixture into the lined tray, or brownie pan, and gently spread to level the surface. Place in the oven for 20-25 minutes, then leave to cool completely in the tin before removing.
  • Start by cutting the brownie slab in to 3” wide strips. If you’re using a brownie pan the long dividers will already have done this for you. Next, rotate the strips 90 degrees and cut strips approximately ¾ inch wide. Arrange on a sheet of baking paper with about 1 inch space between.
  • To finish, melt the dark and milk chocolates in a bowl over a saucepan of simmering water (or bain-marie), stirring occasionally. Once melted, remove from the heat and allow to cool. When cool enough to handle, pour the melted chocolate into a piping bag and snip a small piece from the end to make a fine nozzle.
  • Pipe the melted chocolate over your brownie fries so that it drips down over the sides, forming the “batter coating” to your “fries”.
  • Leave to cool for about 15 mins then sprinkle lightly with seas salt and grind over fresh vanilla.
  • Leave to finally set.

To make the Raspberry “Ketchup”

  • In a bowl combine the fresh raspberries, basil leaves, and black peppercorns.
  • Using a hand blender, blitz until a fine pulp.
  • Pass through a sieve to a bowl below.
  • Set aside until serving.

To make the Yuzu “Mayo”

  • In a bowl combine the mascarpone cheese, cream, agave syrup and yuzu juice.
  • Beat until fully combined.
  • Spoon in to a bowl for serving.

To serve

  • Arrange the brownie fries alongside the ketchup and yuzu mayo.
  • Now dip away to your heart’s content!

Brownie Fries (5)

#Recipe- Egyptian Flatbreads

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Egyptian Flatbreads 4

This started life as yet another “Popcorn” recipe which was consigned to the “Not Right Now” folder on my desktop. With the weather taking a turn for the better I’ve decided to dust it off and let it see the light of day. The flatbreads are really easy and they’re fantastic for picnic or BBQ weather. The popcorn feature ingredient can easily be omitted and the breads will be just as good- maybe not as much of a talking point though?

I love these with smeared with fresh, homemade hummus and sprinkled with some pomegranate seeds. They’re also ideal halved and stacked with slivers of BBQ’d meat, fresh juicy tomatoes and drizzled with olive oil. A definite taste for the summer!

Makes 4

Flatbreads

500g strong, white bread flour

10g salt

10g fast (easy) yeast

375ml warm water

40ml olive oil

2 tablespoons honey

 

Dukkah paste

100g chopped hazelnuts

50g sesame seeds

50g coriander seed

10g cumin seed

1 teaspoon sea salt

½ teaspoon black pepper

50g nigella seeds

2 teaspoons sweet paprika

14g Lemon & Fennel popcorn, crushed

Olive oil

Egyptian Flatbreads 1

  • Place the flour in a bowl, add the yeast to one side, and the salt to the other.
  • Create a well in the middle and add 275ml water, the olive oil and the honey and mix with your fingers until combined. Continue to add the rest of the water a little at a time until all the flour in the bowl has been incorporated. You may not need all the water- you want a dough that is well combined and soft, but not sticky or soggy. By the end your dough should be smooth and elastic.
  • Lightly oil a clean bowl and transfer the dough. Cover loosely with oiled cling film and leave to rise until doubled in size.
  • Whilst the dough is rising, prepare the dukkah.
  • In a pan add the chopped hazelnuts; sesame seeds; coriander seeds; cumin seed; nigella seeds; and paprika. Toast over a medium heat until fragrant.
  • Add the salt and pepper and grind until rough.
  • Add in the crushed popcorn and mix to combine.
  • Drizzle in enough olive oil to create a rough paste.
  • Once the dough has doubled in size, tip out onto a lightly oiled surface and knock back to remove the air (knead for about 5 minutes).
  • Cut the dough into 4 (roughly) equal pieces, and flatten with your fingers in a rough circle shape. With a lightly oiled rolling pin, roll into a larger circular shape, approximately 10-12cms diameter.
  • Transfer to 2 baking trays lined with baking parchment (2 dough discs on each).
  • Smear each of the dough circles liberally with the dukkah paste, covering the entire surface. Leave to rest for 20 minutes.
  • Whilst the dough is resting, preheat your oven to 225 degrees.
  • When the dough is rested, place the baking sheets in the oven- one on top third of oven, one in lower third of oven. After 6 mins, swap the positions of the trays, also turning them 180 degrees (front to back). Continue to bake for another 6 mins.
  • Remove from oven and allow to cool on their baking trays for a further 5 minutes. After this time transfer from the baking trays to wire racks.
  • The flatbreads can be served warm, or cool.

#Recipe Popcorn Crusted Gougères

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Popcorn Crusted Gougères

As you well know by now there’s nothing I like better than an ingredient challenge. Shaking up things is so much a part of what I do here at Mr. Mom’s- as well as flying the flag for bakers of the hirsute persuasion. This recipe was conceived as part of a bundle of bakes using a certain brand of popcorn. I crafted a number of recipes using each flaour of popcorn as a key ingredient- from sweet to savory, starter to dessert. Sadly the manufacturing company showed no interest in them and they were consigned to a dusty folder on my desktop. Until now…

One such popcorn flavour was Sour Cream and Chive. For me this is a flavour that is synonymous with parties for me. The classic retro dip always means “Abigail’s Party”-esque good time gatherings (albeit sans the penchant for Demis Roussos). I wanted to create something savoury but not heavy and filling. These light, little morsels make perfect party drinks nibbles, combining the savoury flavour of classic gougère with a tangy sprinkling of sour cream and chive popcorn. The finish of these bites is a nod to another choux treat the sweet chouquette. But here, savory popcorn crumbs are used instead of pearl sugar.

Ingredients

100ml water

50g butter

60g plain flour

3 medium eggs

40g strong cheddar, grated

40g parmesan, grated

Pinch white pepper

Pinch salt

10g Sour Cream & Chive popcorn, crushed

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Method

 

  • Preheat your oven to 170°C, and line a baking tray with baking parchment.
  • In a bowl combine the two cheeses and mix well. Set aside until needed later.
  • In a medium saucepan add the water and butter and bring up to simmer melting the butter.
  • Turn off the heat and add the flour and mix well, make sure the roux is dry and all the water cooked off.
  • Beat 2 of the eggs together. Add ¼ of the beaten eggs and beat well to incorporate. Repeat steps until all the beaten eggs have been added.
  • Now add the ½ the cheese, mix well, add remainder of cheese and mix well again, season with salt and pepper. The dough should now come together in a single, soft lump in the pan.
  • Put into a piping bag, fitted with a plain nozzle, and pipe out the size of a small walnut onto baking paper leaving space between each one. If you have little peaks dab them down with a wet finger.
  • Beat the remaining egg to make a simple egg wash and gently brush each blob of pasty.
  • Sprinkle over the crushed popcorn, gently pushing in to the pastry.
  • Put into a preheated oven and bake for 25 minutes approx. until golden brown. If needed rotate the tray half way through cooking.
  • Remove from the oven and serve.

*For ideal serving, once cooled return to a warm oven for about 5 minutes to warm up.

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Cranberry, Pear & Dark Chocolate Hot Cross Buns

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Okay- I’ll come clean. I don’t actually like hot cross buns. Well- hot cross buns in the “traditional” sense. Dried fruits of sultanas, currants and raisins do absolutely nothing for me and hot cross buns I place firmly in the same category as Christmas Cake. I’ll accept them to be civil, I’ll bake them to experiment and I’ll eat them under duress. So it only seems fitting that this Easter season I come up with something  a lot more palatable, even to the those of us prone to outbursts of “inyaphobia” (yes, it’s a thing I jest you not…Google it).

I can’t quite put a finger on where my malaise with dried fruit comes from. It probably has its roots, like all else culinary for me, in my childhood and my mother’s kitchen. Each festive season, whether it be Easter, Christmas or Halloween was heralded with a routine palette of sensory ticks…the flat clanging of baking trays on kitchen surfaces, the heady scent of dried fruit steeping in brandy, cold tea or whatever liquid was to hand, and the frequent blistering blasts of heat from oven. It’s the smell of the dried fruit steeping that sticks with me, permeating memory as much as clothing. Like anything in life familiarity breeds contempt, and boy did my mother like a fruit cake!

Hence my deviation from hot cross buns with their traditional sultana/mixed peel combination. Instead I give you an almost “regal” combination of cranberries and pear (yes, I’m aware they’re dried too but far more tolerable in my view) laced with dark chocolate chunks. Chocolate makes everything better. Except fish- that’s just wrong! So best you stick to making these hot cross buns instead.

*This recipe has been revised in April 2020 to include measurements/ quantities and ingredient names as suitable for Canada and the US. Throughout the recipe I still refer to the ingredients as they were originally drafted.

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Ingredients
500g/ 4 cups All Purpose/ Plain flour
85g/ 1/3 cup (caster) sugar
2 teaspoons mixed spice powder (if you don’t have this you can use pumpkin spice mix)
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon nutmeg
10g/2 teaspoons Kosher salt
14g/ 2 1/4 teaspoons fast-action dried yeast
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
40g/ 2 tablespoons butter
300ml/ 1 1/4 cups whole fat milk
1 egg, beaten
65g/ 1/3 cup dried cranberries, soaked in

2 tablespoons orange juice
65g/ 1/3 cup dried pear, chopped into small pieces
65g/ 40z dark chocolate/ semi-sweet chocolate, chopped in small/ medium chunks

Cross marking
50g/ 1/2 cup All Purpose/ Plain flour
80ml/ 1/3 cup cold water

Glaze
2 tbspn golden syrup/ light corn syrup

Method

  1. Line a baking sheet/ tray with baking parchment and set aside for later
  2. Combine the flour, sugar, spices, salt and yeast into a large bowl. Make sure the salt and yeast are on opposite sides of the bowl
  3. In a pan combine the milk, vanilla extract and butter. Heat over a medium/low heat until the butter has melted. Allow the mixture to cool until tepid
  4. Add 1/3 the tepid milk mixture to the dry ingredients, along with the beaten egg. and use your hands to bring the mixture together. Add in the second 1/3 of the milk mixture and continue forming a dough, taking any stray flour from the sides of the bowl
  5. Finally, slowly add the remaining milk until you form a soft pliable dough. Take note here as you may not need all of the milk
  6. Tip the dough out on to a lightly oiled work surface. Knead by hand for about 7-8 minutes. After this time add the fruit and chocolate chunks into the dough and continue to lightly knead for 3-4 minutes until you have a smooth, elastic dough and the fruit & chocolate has been incorporated (*If you are using a stand mixer please see the note below)
  7. Lightly oil a bowl and place the dough in it, covering with oiled cling film and leave to rest in a warm place until doubled in size (apx 1 hour)
  8. Tip the dough on to a lightly oiled surface and divide into 12 balls. (I usually do this by rolling it into a thick sausage shape, apx 40cms long. Divide into 2, then divide each half into 6 equal pieces and roll them into balls)
  9. Place the balls on the tray, placing them fairly close together and flattening them slightly
  10. Cover the baking tray with oiled cling film and leave for an hour until the balls have doubled in size
  11. Preheat the oven to 350F/170C degrees
  12. For the cross marking, combine the flour and water in a bowl. Mix together to make a paste and spoon into an icing bag
  13. When the buns have risen remove the tray from the bag, snip the end of the piping bag (making a hole about 3mm) and pipe a cross on each bun. Bake for 15-20 minutes until pale golden-brown, turning the baking trays round halfway through

*If you are using a stand mixer for the dough, attach the dough hook and follow steps as follows

  • Combine the flour, sugar, spices, salt and yeast into a large bowl. Make sure the salt and yeast are on opposite sides of the mixer bowl
  • Follow Steps 4 & 5 above to combine the liquid
  • Continue to knead in the mixer for 5 minutes
  • After 5 minutes remove the dough from the mixer, add  the dried fruit & chocolate chunks and continue to lightly knead until you have a smooth, elastic dough and the fruit & chocolate has been incorporated (apx 3-4 minutes)
  • Proceed to Step 7 above and follow remainder of method as above

To finish

  1. Warm the golden syrup in a pan and while the buns are still warm, brush the buns with a little syrup to glaze. Return to the wire rack and allow to cool.
  2. Serve with fresh butter. They can be lightly warmed in an oven for tasty seasonal breakfast treat. Enjoy!

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Recipe- Italian Stromboli

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So this week on The Great British Bake Off it was ‘Bread’ week (step forward Mr. Paul Hollywood looking rather smug). The bakers were challenged to a quick bread (typically soda bread); make some baguettes- this ended up with me screaming repeatedly at the TV and finally a 3-d bread sculpture. Yup- bread. Now while I didn’t attempt any of these in the vein of Bake Off fever, I did make something to keep up the theme itself.

I’m not sure why but over the past couple of weeks I’ve had stromboli on the brain. Please don’t be alarmed it isn’t a medical condition. Strombloi is in fact a stuffed loaf of Italian origin. Or as some people like to call it ‘Pizza Roll Bread’. Now for me that name just doesn’t do it justice. I much prefer it’s ‘Stromboli’ title (go ahead call me bourgeoise!). And so stromboli would be my #TheGreatBeardedBakeOff recipe for this week’s theme. Yes I know it’s not one of the challenges but I like to think outside the box; left of the middle etc etc – ’cause I’m crazy like that!

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Italian Strombloi

500g strong white bread flour

7g fast yeast

10g fine sea salt

40ml extra virgin olive oil

350ml warm water

1 tablespoon dried oregano

4 tablespoons finely grated parmesan cheese, plus extra for topping

125g buffalo mozzarella cheese, torn into pieces

75g sun-dried tomatoes, patted fry of any oil, roughly chopped

12g fresh basil leaves

80g prosciutto ham

Method

– In the bowl of a stand mixer place the flour; salt (to one side); yeast (to the opposite side; oregano and 1 tablespoon of parmesan cheese.

– Add the olive oil and 300ml of water.

– Using the dough hook attachment, mix the ingredients for 2-3 mins until fully combined. Add the remaining water in 2-3 pours until it’s all incorporated. Increase the speed in accordance to your machines instructions and continue to knead for 8 minutes. By the end of the kneading time the dough should be smooth and elastic.

– Once the dough has risen, tip it out onto a lightly oiled work-surface and knock the dough back until all the air has been removed. Flatten in to a rectangular shape, roughly 40cm x30cm, with the long edge facing you. It doesn’t need to be perfect.

– Over the surface of the dough scatter the remaining 3 tablespoons of parmesan cheese. Then scatter the mozzarella pieces; the sun-dried tomatoes and the basil leaves. Lay the slices of prosciutto at intervals over the dough surface to finish filling it.

– Working on the long edge, roll up the dough in to a sausage shape, trapping the filling inside. Normally with stromboli it s left as a long loaf  but I prefer to roll itself into a spiral shape and tuck the end underneath. This is entirely up to you.

– Place the rolled up dough onto a baking sheet line with baking parchment. Leave to prove in a warm room until roughly doubled in size.

– Preheat you oven to 220 degrees C.

– When proved, lightly spray the surface of the dough with water, and sprinkle with semolina and some finely grated parmesan.

– Place a baking tray filled with water into the bottom fo the oven, and place the baking tray with the dough on the middle shelf. Bake the dough for 20 mins, after which reduce the oven temperature to 190 degrees C and bake for another 10 mins or until it golden and sounds hollow when tapped underneath.

– Once the loaf is baked remove from the oven place on a wire rack to cool. This tastes great as a picnic loaf or served with some fresh salad as a delicious alternative to pizza!

– Enjoy!